The Two Faces of Vanillin
By Jennifer Rae Vliet
There is natural vanillin ~ one of 250 natural flavor/aroma components of the vanilla pod which appears on the beans as an iridescent crystal formation. The presence of these crystals deems these beans the most superior in quality. They are the most fragrant and flavorful. Yay!
Then there is imitation or synthetic vanillin ~ I would want you to come to your own conclusion based on your own research, but this product will never enter my body voluntarily. I will refer to it as The Villain in this excerpt because it seems to have criminal tendencies. It seems a thief, a robber, an imposter if you will, of the natural essence of what makes a pastry chef’s life even doable…PURE VANILLA. Is it possible that it could even be a hazard to our health? That is for you to decide however at the Culinary Institute of America, where I received my degree in The Baking and Pastry Arts, we never used vanillin, ever. It was not even discussed in any positive light.
The best I can deduce from the research I have done is The Villain is the chemically treated waste produced from by-products of paper and petrochemical manufacturing. (See below video and links on the processing of)
Everyone together, 1-2-3 “YUMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!”
It turns out it comes from wood pulp and in its earlier form it was polluting the waters surrounding the paper plants that expelled it. They decided it was cheap enough to chemically treat and alter into quite the tasty treat for supposed human consumption.
I personally do everything to avoid eating a product with vanillin in it as it is proudly on the product labels. Take a look…more and more. It’s in ice creams, chocolate bars, cakes, etc.
I have compiled some info on vanillin a good video on what vanillin is from a reputable source that specializes in research below…
Bioeconomic model project: vanillin from process industry residues – Bioeconomy (biooekonomie-bw.de)
Where Does Artificial Vanilla (Vanillin) Come From? | Feingold Association